The ugly truth about accessible toilets, these are my pet peeves, what are yours? Why Not check out my passed videos? Thank you everyone who sent in photos for me to use. :) These comments hurt ruclips.net/video/nPk8xdEHJ5A/видео.html Never do this to a wheelchair user. EVER ruclips.net/video/nPZkPJAXDaQ/видео.html These Disability stereotypes need to stop ruclips.net/video/9CVy44pxWuU/видео.html
I have POTS and EDS, using a disabled toilet when I’m not in my wheelchair I feel so bad! But if I faint somewhere that doesn’t have a red cord I could be a massive issue - I could be there for ages unable to move. And then having Karen’s accusing me of being a liar and invalid me is so ANNOYING
As a person how is visually impaired and has adrenal failure and also may be a fall or trip risk using accessible bathrooms is easier but I hate when bathrooms don’t have pull cords cause it scares me cause if I fall and can’t get up it’s dangerous so for people who have business and such if you come across this pls consider putting emergency pull cords in your restroom.
I went to the doctors and had to go to the bathroom "disabled friendly" buttt the toilet and sink next to each other so I could not transfer and very skinny for a NHS doctors I was very disappointed
I am shocked that there’s such a thing as “The red cord!?” That is an incredible and I never even thought it were possible!? It’s in our hospital bathrooms(well in patient rooms) not in the public area bathrooms though which I am feeling is odd? What an amazing thing to have! Brilliant, although lol seriously, I would be wondering where I live, who’s answering that toilet alarm? Clearly there’s have to be carefully thought out and planned rules and protocols in place for that feature but it’s absolutely a needed safety feature. I have fallen, thank God only at home, but if I were to have your courage etc, I’d be out more but therefore be at more risk if on an independent outing. Suks though that other people tie them out of reach or even cut them! That makes me mad. Wonder if they could make it out of a non pliable cord maybe wrapped it in stainless steel with a button, then I couldn’t be wrapped into a tied knot or be cut, but buttons aren’t always doable for everyone either…..I’ll have to think on that one. 💜👩🏻🦽✋
@@elenaxoxo4677 💜 totally agree! Falls and fainting and seizures are so much more common than most non-disabled and non-affected people realize until they experience it personally or with a loved one.
When I (female) was a child with disabilities it was sometimes difficult to go out with my dad because sometimes the only accessible toilets were within the block of male or female. Some people have carers that are a different gender and this is not always considered.
Totally agree. I've cared for my stroke-surviving husband for 10 years and always appreciate finding a "family" or unisex bathroom. Lately we've done some day trips around our part of the state (Washington, USA) and struggled to find a bathroom he could get into. He usually walks with a quad cane but can only lift his weak foot a few inches unless his one useable hand is gripping a secure grab bar. Often, there'll be a step, either with grab bar on only one side, neither side, or wobbly so he's afraid to use it. Worse is trying to find a hotel room with a shower he feels safe in. We pretty much need to bring a tub transfer chair because tubs rarely have grab bars, and if the accessible shower has a seat, 50/50 chance it's bolted to the wrong side relative to his paralyzed arm.
I’m eternally grateful to the lgbtqplus community for putting all gender bathrooms on the map. I’m cis and heterosexual and I often need help from my husband.
I have mostly hidden disabilities and am also an ambulatory stick user. I used a disabled toilet once. It was remarkably clean and well laid out. The problem came when I was leaving and someone screamed at me "You can't use that. You're not disabled" My reply was "Oh, so you've got CT - O - Vision and can see my neurological problems and the hole I have in the base of my spine, which causes me crippling pain?" I had similar issues at a former workplace too, where they used them as a storeroom. Their excuse : "We don't employ disabled people (meaning wheelchair users) on the shopfloor, so it's not generally used" My reply : "But you employ me and I'm listed as disabled for your insurance purposes. Therefore, I'm allowed to have access!" Keep up the good work 👍 😊
Exactly- do people need to wear a blue badge around their neck now ? I seriously would never dare say that to anyone as exactly as you explain not all disability is visible or how the rest of the world think it should be and present itself! 🙏🏻❤️
About a years ago a woman who worked at my local supermarket decided to take upon herself to OUT me for using an accessible toilet because I was younger and didn't 'look' disabled. I didn't have to but I explained about my illness and how invisible illnesses may need someone to use an accesible toilet and that she shouldn't judge nor embarrasse a person, after all how will people understand and learn if we don't try to educate them. However she chuffed, huffed and walked off like she was 'the champion'. 1 year later and my degenerative disease has progressed quickly and drastically and I'm now a full time wheelchair user, I used the toilet and required my husbands assistance, I saw the same woman at customer service desk and my husband literally noticed her smiled and said "happy now. Is she disabled enough for you!? " she looked mortified possibly not even remembering her previous comments to me. I have to admit the bad experience had stuck with me and caused me enxiety using the facilities in the future; but I never realised how badly it had stuck with my hubby too. I didn't complain at his childish comment because I realised she'd upset and offended him as much as she had myself and I felt a little dig was actually quite justified. 😉
I've had very similar situations. It has actually gotten to the point where I don't tell my husband and these incidents because I don't want him to feel the pain that I know he feels in these situations. I would have done the same thing that you did. I can't stand when people are arrogant and ignorant at the same time.
You should have written to the manager. Its wrong to be dissing someone that's disabled or different in any other way for that matter! The only people that are qualified to judge your disability are you and your medical team. Others don't get a look-in on this issue!
My uni building doesn’t have a single accessible bathroom. The closest is across the street. When I need to use mobility aids it gets tricky because I’m worried about getting stuck in the normal stalls! The first and only time I’ve seen a stall for ambulatory disabilities was at the Sidney opera house funnily enough, and it was great. I wish they were more prevalent. I also noticed recently that at Gatwick airport there are signs outside of the accessible toilet that say “Not all disabilities are visible”. Loved that :)
Invisible disability here. I find any bathroom with hand rails extremely helpful as many of my joint hyper extend and hurt a lot. I will say though having my disability be invisible though is frustrating. I have had multiple people, workers, and even other disabled people yell at my. It’s frustrating.
I had a first episode of harassment because of not so visible disability. I'm unable to walk much because I have a progressive neuropathy caused by a chronic blood cancer. I was using my wheelchair to carry my inflatable kayak to the sea..using the wheelchair as a walker at the same time. The know-all interloper videoed/photographed me & said he was going to post it on RUclips, saying "It's simply not done"( my use of my wheelchair!). I frequently use the same technique for getting my shopping from my car to my flat. I wish people would stop being judgemental without even bothering to find out the facts. The guy concerned didn't even ask if I was disabled, just assumed I wasn't, perhaps because I went kayaking? My legs are more severely affected than my arms, so its something I'm still able to do! 🤬🤯
This is why I - as a wheelchair user - never assume. If someone uses the accessible toilet, I assume they have a good reason for it. Period. I once had to wait for a man who sprinted up the stairs after he used the bathroom. My friend asked me if I wasn't annoyed. I wasn't. Maybe he had an ostomy, used a catheter, or maybe he was just claustrophobic for all I care. And if not... so? In my mind, it's an accessible toilet meaning people who need the extra facilities are ABLE to use it, but it's not like a disabled parking space that's JUST for the disabled. But I get why not everyone thinks of it that way. I've had years where I couldn't hold it at all if I had to go. But still, I try not to judge others when I don't know a thing about them.
@@sisterthesister4870 I think it does depend though as I’ve had a lot of people look very embarrassed when they come out and apologise, without me saying anything to them. I never confront anyone as there has been days I’ve been walking and used accessible bathrooms, but I do get annoyed if people are just using it because they can’t be bothered to wait (this happens a lot in my uni library).
@@charlottehesketh9703 same. There’s one theatre where the disabled toilet is right next to the ladies. I can’t get to it when people are queuing in front of it and you see people stand in the queue for a bit then start using the disabled bathroom so I’m there waiting when they don’t need to use it. I CANT STAND UP FOR LONG. Ugh I hate ut
I have an invisible disability (Fibro) and i am in and out of a wheelchair. the only time i have ever felt hated for using a disabled bathroom when not using my wheel chair is by people with kids. sometimes the Disabled bathrooms have changing stations for baby's and i get a look of death or a scoff off the mothers/farther but i have never felt hated by another disabled person.
Yes they put baby changing facilities in disabled toilets- totally wrong. Some places do have nursing rooms where you can feed and change your baby and I have to say things have changed a lot since I got into trouble for nursing my newborn baby in the corner of Alders Cafe , we were in a corner and she and I were completely covered in a shawl so unless you actually had a really good stare there’s no way “it was disgusting and shouldn’t be allowed where people are eating” yes and “why can’t you do that in the toilet” she was referring to the disabled toilet ? Yep another woman complained that I was breast feeding my tiny infant in the corner of a Cafe and believed that it was justified for me to sit and give my daughter her food on a toilet? That was 26 years ago so we’ve move on a bit from then I hope!
I'm an ambulatory wheelchair user and last year nipped into a garden centre to use the loo. I used the disabled one because I use intermittent catheters so I need to have a sink in the same space to wash my hands before and after. The loo was beside the door so didn't take my wheelchair in. When I came out there was a mother and child waiting and the Mum made a comment about how I shouldn't have used it (it was a disabled loo, NOT parent and child) and I literally had a bag of catheters in my hand. If I had been less paranoid about covid and just getting out I would have said something. My pet peeve is that too often the sinks are tiny so there's not really room to get your hands under the tap or the taps are too powerful for the small sink and splash over the side of the sink into your lap.
The changing tables being in the handicapped toilets are almost everywhere around me now. I get parents want privacy for changing, but they really need to find somewhere else. The changing tables are rarely ever folded back up, so you roll into a stall and there’s a changing table right at your throat, it’s a hard reach to push back up to locking position from a wheelchair too. I’ll add two more pet peeves. No sanitary trash in the handicapped stall. It’s an often missed accessory. It will be in all the other stalls but not the handicapped. Like handicapped people don’t have a period?! Then toilet paper left all over the floor. It can make transfers very dangerous as the toilet patter is slick. Ok one more. I often see signs of theft in the handicapped stall. Pulled tags thrown on ground in there etc. I’m sure they use it as it’s always at the back of a restroom and bigger.
I forgot about the changing tables. Yea it's annoying when people don't put them back. Yea they shouldn't be in the disabled stall. I need that stall for my wheelchair. You can change your baby in the common area.
One bathroom I went to in a shopping center was enooormous. You could easily fit at least 5 manual wheelchair users at one time. So it probably was perfect for people with electric chairs which take up more space. BUT! The toliet was in one end, then the sink after that at the wall to the right..and after THAT came the toilet paper dispenser. So unless you hade someone with you for those who need help there were no chance in hell to reach the paper from the toilet. And when I need to go I really need to go and there is no time to stop on the way to gather up toilet paper….bad placement!
I am in the US. Some problems I have encountered are: 1) the stall is too small to turn around in the wheelchair and sometimes even can't close the door. 2) the grab bars around a lot of toilets seem more designed to help people who can stand, because they are high up/not that close to the toilet. 3) the toilet is sometimes pretty low. 4) the bowl is shallow (don't know if this is specific to accessible toilets) and my clothes may get in the water/it's hard to insert a catheter without getting my hand in the toilet water. Red cords are not much of a thing in the US. Have seen some in doctor's offices. Have not come across too many being used as storerooms. Long ago my eye doctor's office had a toilet marked with the wheelchair symbol on the door but even a regular sized wheelchair could not get through the door. Once I went to a YMCA and they kept the accessible bathroom locked and could not find the key. Accessible toilet or not, a lot of women stand up to use the public toilets and don't clean up the urine splashes afterward. I don't have a choice to stand so I have to clean it first.
For some bizarre reason, the disabled toilet at my last place of work had walls that were covered in mirrored glass. Four walls of mirrors! It was really disorientating and unnecessary, I wonder what the designer had been thinking!
I also echo the pet peeve when the accessible bathroom does not have surface areas. I am a type 1 diabetic, and I prefer some of my management to be private. I have had to do insulin injections and infusion set changes by balancing my kit on the bar beside the toilet or on the corner of the sink because the accessible bathroom did not have a changing area/shelf. Chronic illnesses are already enough to cope with that it is more than an "annoyance" when additional spoons than usual are used for a task.
I am an 'invisible disabled'. I have nerve damage/Fibro mialgia(very bad), adrenal insufficiency, damaged spine (collapsed disks and fusing vertbrea (plus a host of other conditions.) I use a mobility scooter and when very bad my carer has to wash/dress(and yes help on the loo). Yet I look 'normal'! I had often had looks and comments using the disabled loos. Ironically from older people. I stopped going to the local swimming pool (I used to use the spa as the heat helps the pain), because of ladies using the accessible changing room as their own private 'pampering room'! They would spend over an hour in there whilst I was stood outside wet and getting very cold waiting to get showered and changed. One lady gave me a right telling off because I used 'her room'! Pull cords are all too often tied up or evencut off.
Worst I've encountered was a Handicap stall at a RV park. I found out the hard way that the grab bars on one side were just mounted with plastic dry wall anchors. Fortunately I wasn't hurt, but completely disgusted because I had already removed my shorts and underwear. (Bilateral above knee amputee) and was now laying on the floor of essentially a public bathroom. Now the first thing I do is test the bars to make sure they are mounted properly. I still feel dirty and in need of a shower just thinking of how nasty that floor probably was and how long I was stuck there. I have never been in a handicap restroom outside of a medical facility that had an emergency cord. Needless to say I was stuck on the floor for about 30 minutes until my wife started to worry and came and checked on me.
I'm dumbfounded. I used to think that accessible toilets need to fulfill certain regulations, to meet these necessities. I can't believe nobody is supervising this. I'm truly astounded.
I think that’s a brilliant idea ! I remember when a building at my university was out of bounds for a month due to making it more accessible. They had put in wheelchair accessible slopes on each access point of the building but seems they forgot about the 8-10 steps outside to actually get in? It was infuriating as we all know they get funding and quite a lot of it to ensure the buildings are accessible by all ! As someone said earlier, should be someone checking up on this and a criteria created , so if they get it wrong they pay to have it sorted!
Just wanted to thank you for the non-visible disability reminder. Can't tell you how many dirty looks I've gotten over the years. Actually been called out about it a few times.
Also: Lightswitches so high up that there is no way someone could reach it from a wheelchair, locked accessible bathrooms (or ones that can't be locked when in use), bathrooms with a tap you have to push down to turn it on, no handlebar on the door so you could just easily pull the door closed, And if facilities don't have accessible bathrooms would it be so hard to add one or two handlebars to their regular ones!? Sometimes that would make a huge difference. Sometimes I think that the people designing "accessible" places for people with disabilities think that we are transformers or something.
That bit about bathrooms being dangerous is so true. The amount of times I’ve nearly had a terrible injury, or have hurt myself in a bathroom is insane. Even with using the shower chair we have at home and such. Bathrooms are scary 😳
Accessible bathrooms, and dressing rooms for that matter, being used as storage rooms has been the biggest issue I've come across. So frustrating! Thankfully I can stand/walk enough to get out of my wheelchair to use the restroom but it's still a pain to deal with. Especially when the stuff is blocking the metal bars.
I'm U.S. based with an invisible disability (chronic pain). It's a gamble finding a clean bathroom in my area. There's always someone in the accessible stall and as soon as they see me outside the door waiting it's the typical "Sorry, it's just so roomy" bit. The only place I've seen with a "Red Cord" type setup was the hospital. They're not really a thing in public here (at least not in my area.) I've had people accuse me of stealing my cane from my grandparent and one person even tried to take my cane from me. In my chair people are a lot more "nice" but there's always at least one person with the "you're too young for all that" spiel. I've gotten pretty good at telling those kind of people to shove off, assuming whoever I'm with doesn't beat me to it.
I've been a wheelchair user for about a year now and before that I thought disability bathrooms were pretty accessible until I had to use them. I can hardly turn around in them in my area. It also makes it more difficult since I also have a service dog, so I have to make sure she has enough room to move with me.
This was really interesting. I’ve recently started helping my grandmother who is a new wheelchair user and have come across many frustrating aspects of accessible bathroom I totally agree that so many times there’s a bunch of things stuff in one corner which means it’s really awkward to reach anything. I’ve also found that when I’m helping her transfer there’s often not enough room for me to do that while giving her enough space to reach the bar and not being squashed against something like the sink or the wall. Use it for storage place is a lot here in the US as well
When there are no lowered hooks to hang your coat, bag, purse, etc. especially when you lay your coat across the sink and the sink automatically turns on and now you have a wet coat. 😱😱
So many of the “disabled toilets” that I cannot get into. They’re usually unbelievably rare. My chair only fits specific toilets. So many places say they’re accessible but I can’t even move in certain “accessible “ bathrooms
My school has six disabled bathrooms, but only one is actually accessible and the others are all ‘out of order’ and that one is always used by staff at my school so it’s always occupied. So annoying and I end up just holding it all day.
Love this girl. Great gutsy delivery. I'm currently quite disabled,. possibly soon to be more so, after a long non disabled life. This site is so full of helpful stuff. Utterly brilliant. Thank you.
Although I don’t need to use an accessible bathroom this still annoys me for people who do need it. My school has just installed an accessible washroom this past year and it’s way down the hall away from most of the classrooms we use. Almost as of they are ashamed of having it. Plus although they installed an automatic door button it doesn’t always work and the door is quite a heavy door.
I live in France, they issue you with a card which states your disabled, you can use it in cues to go to the front or access disabled toilets etc (if you reside in France contact your local MDPH) As toilets go through take your own supply of loo roll, and they aren't always disabled friendly or so clean. And thank you for speaking out for disabled people, who on the whole don't get heard and In my experience get steamrollered because we in general lack the ability or energy to fight our corner.
I hate it when accessible toilets are used as storage, totally makes the space inaccessible. Also really heavy toilet doors that are really hard to manage in a chair or mobility aid. It’s frustrating and can ruin my day out
I have ADHD and autism and I don't need an accessible bathroom. I wouldn't use one unless all the others were occupied and I _really_ needed to go. But in my teens/lower twenties I had fairly severe paruresis, where I really couldn't use toilets in those open-floor type cubicle bathrooms, so I just held it. Which is obviously bad for many reasons! But a big part of that condition, for me, was social anxiety, so I would never ever use the accessible ones (though they would for sure have helped me!) even when I was in agony needing to pee, because I'd just have felt so bad occupying one for someone who "actually" needed it and making them wait. :/
My pet peeve is when a children’s hospital only has ONE bathroom that has a giant changing table (not the flimsy baby ones). And since it is advertised as a family restroom it is often being used
I am with you all the way, I had to take a facilities manager at work into a toilet with me to show him the issues, uncomfortable, amongst the other issues is putting stuff, bins etc in the large space, if there is one, next toilet, the space is there for a reason grrrrrrrrr and electric hand dry placement so my powerchair hits them when moving the list is endless. Thank you for doing this
Here in America we have those horrid stalls, like the ones with about an inch or more gap in the doors. I don’t use a wheelchair (yet) I have an 80lbs mobility service dog. And I’ve had a kid use that gap to stare at my dog while I was trying to go to the bathroom. I don’t usually get mad at kids for being excited seeing a dog, but I did tell that kid off. God I wish bathroom stalls did not have those horrid gaps. Edit: I’ve also had to wait for someone to change their clothes like you mentioned while almost pissing myself because my dog and I physically do not fit in normal stalls. Also there could be like 50+ normal stalls in busy places but only large enough for people who need it. So there is always a line for that one stall.
I've actually had quite a great experience with accessible bathrooms lately on a trip we went on. For starters, in a rest area they had both wheelchair accessible and ambulatory accessible stalls with grab bars so it wasn't as conflicting to decide if I should go in a wheelchair accessible stall or not. In another rest stop/store every stall had grab bars in addition to the usual wheelchair accessible stall. It really is sort of the bare minimum in terms of accessibility, but it was definitely more comfortable as someone with an invisible disability to be able to use an accessible stall without being as concerned about judgement or taking away from someone who 100% *needed* an accessible stall in order to use the restroom compared to me who it is helpful for, but not a necessity all the time
I don’t know why I didn’t get a notification from YT when you posted this video, maybe YT was afraid that my blood pressure would get to high 😀😜 everything you said in this video I also experienced. I think it’s really sad that we as a community have to often plan our lives around accessible bathrooms. So often I’m going out with friends for dinner, and because we don’t wanna visit the same two restaurants with an accessible toilet every time, I have to think about everything I’m drinking, and constantly hope that my bladder will be on my side and I can enjoy the evening and get home without any accident happening. I really can’t keep track anymore how often the accessible toilet in a shop or restaurant was used for storage, because it’s so unlikely that somebody with a disability is coming along, so why not just use the space🙈🙈 I had lockers for employees and drinks stacked up to the ceiling, cleaning supplies and so much more put in those toilets. Sometimes the stuff could remove the things so I could use the toilet, but I had more than ones that there wasn’t a way for me to get into the toilet. And anyone who has a problem with controlling there bladder, can probably imagine how terrible that is. So the times that happened I had to get to my husband and tell him that the nice dinner or evening was over and that we either have to find another accessible toilet nearby or we have to get home asap😏 those moments really make me feel disabled, not me getting around in my wheelchair or having to cope with everything that comes with my illness. This really need to change, and I think the best way to improve,really everything associated with disability, would be to just get a disabled person involved, it’s not rocket science. Don’t let abled bodied people, who don’t have a clue about disability, plan and design things and places that are for disability people. We clearly understood that for other groups, why doesn’t the society get it in this case. Gem, thank you so much for making videos like this and doing campaigns for things we as a community really need, and need to change. 💜Katy
I rely on a hoist to access a toilet, trying to leave the house is almost impossible most of the time. For electric wheelchair users, standard accessible toilets are too small meaning you can’t even shut the door. No wonder why I had surgery for a suprapubic catheter to be put in and thinking of a colostomy too just so I can get some sort of a life back.
Almost every time now when I actually find a disabled toilet, it's locked. So good luck finding the person who has the key and hoping they're not too busy (they will be) and that you're visibly disabled enough for them to actually let you in!
I have several hidden disabilities, and so if I can, I use the disabled stall, if no one else needs it. It really helps to have the space and time with GI issues, as well as me having more space, because small restrooms can be very difficult for me to navigate the space especially when I’m in sensory overload.
Two recent issues 1) I use the single public washroom at my work (because there’s stairs up to the staff ones and really don’t want to spend spoons climbing stairs(aka my evil nemesis) or call someone for the stairlift). There’s always an issue. The last one was a used period pad left on the grab bar. I typically bring cleaning supplies and clean it first then use it. 2) A local Starbucks. This is both ironic and very annoying and ableist. There’s two single washrooms. One is general the second is accessible with the only infant/child changing table. The accessible one was locked with a sign on the door saying “staff only” AND there were high chairs blocking part of the doorway. I had to walk back to the order counter (dizzy and ‘not looking disabled’ because I was using my Nordic Walking poles) to ask them to open it and point out that it’s likely against the law or at least building codes. The irony is that this is the public place where I’ve had one of if not the best customer service as a disabled person. I even wrote an email to head office. (I’m in Toronto, Canada. Changing careers from special education to web development and living with EDS, MCAS, multiple dysautonomias, migraines, and SAD. I use two canes (on public transit), Nordic Walking poles, and courtesy wheelchairs at museums and etc.)
If you see this, I'd love to hear more about using the walking poles. I've been using two canes for years. Would like to use walking poles sometimes, but my ankles are full of metal and I lean heavily on my canes on hills. Would walking poles work for me?
@@ellen8996 Hi! So it's been a year. I'm so bad at catching up with RUclips comments. My Nordic walking poles work for me better than my canes because I use them to push. My Achilles tendons are shot and I can't count the number of times I've sprained my ankles. Nordic walking poles with the "boot" type tips (which face the opposite way that your own feet in boots do, help provide momentum. I have new folding ones. They fold in two places and then the top part under the handle adjusts by telescoping up or down. There's a clamp with two small knobs/screws. If you lean on your mobility aids a lot, make sure that the screws that make the clamp work are really tight. Look for RUclips videos on xc ski pole hand grip. There's a certain way to hold Nordic walking poles and xc (Nordic) ski poles that give a lot of support and push. You need poles with straps on the grips and not the "Urban poling" brand / type.
I’ve only been in disability stalls where it isn’t its own room with a sink, I use a cane and think about all the germs getting on it because I have to do quite a bit of steps before being able to wash hands, and the paper towels aren’t right next to the sink so I have to choose between crashing into a garbage bin or getting the handle of my cane wet (which makes it slippery and it’s hard to dry). I’ve fallen in the bathroom quite a few times
I typically use a cane at school at it’s quite awkward telling 5 people to skip me in line because there’s only 1 disability stall with room for my cane and I’m late to class because people use it. I remember walking in during class with my cane and someone walked into the disability stall when 5 other stalls were available, as they started walking into the stall, they gave a wide eyed stare at my cane. When they left the stall I walked in and they knew full well I waited for them to be done. They looked a bit ashamed, but I’m guessing they’ll do it again
The door of the stall pushes into the space, instead of pulling to open out from it, and there's not enough room, either to the side of the toilet or in front of it, for you to get your wheelchair out the door's path to close it.
So often in the US you have to practically straddle the toilet to close the stall door. Not to mention all the spaces for peeping. UK toilets are much better designed for privacy.
I have..some thoughts. I only started needed mobility aids like a wheelchair last year at the start of a new semester at my uni. The building I'm in most of the day for my major is completely inaccessible while advertising it as such. For one class I needed to get into a theatre - one that the only entrance was to go down two flights of stairs. After having to ask staff, I finally found the one wheelchair entrance, which was behind three sets of locked doors. The bathrooms are especially infuriating- there's no red cord at all, the stalls are all incredibly thin, so i couldn't even get half of my wheelchair inside the one accessible stall in the entire building (which was on the third floor, and one of the elevators was out, so i had to push myself around the entire building to even get to an elevator). In the student union, there is also only one accessible stall per bathroom. I wheeled in, and there were 3 people inside the stall talking for a good ten minutes while i sat there, waiting, blocking the door so they would very much have to see me when they got out. Normally I would try not to judge, but it's three people with backpacks in their twenties, very much not caretakers, not a single mobility aid among them, and they looked absolutely terrified when they saw me; so I feel I have reason to be upset about them being in there.
Tiny sinks - especially in accessible hotel rooms! I would like a chat with the person who thinks all disabled people have tiny hands and tiny faces. 🤣
I have an invisible disability. I’ve had disgustingly judgemental looks (and some incredibly rude comments) for using the accessible bathroom. I look physically fine, but I can’t physically use a non-accessible toilet. I also have mental health problems so these looks and comments do deter me from even going out at all, especially on my own. If I’m having a bad day mentally, I can’t cope with the judgement from others. So then to go out I’m reliant on family to advocate for me. Toileting really shouldn’t be as complicated as it is, it’s really interesting to hear your perspective as a wheelchair user too. I completely relate to the not having a decent (or any) surface, trying to balance necessary items in a toilet setting is never fun!
By the way I don’t know if episodic paralysis is the right term but I have episodes where my sensation and ability to move my legs is severely impaired I have had this issue since my lumbar spine sustained an injury in 2015 and due to my other conditions it’s too risky to operate so had to adapt to using a wheelchair as well as being born blind and having EDS Don’t get me wrong I’d not change my life for anything but these accessibility issues really do try us I love your videos gem I’ve watched them all several times and they have really helped me Keep it up
There is one in a theater I go to in California that has an accessible stall with the regular stalls. The stall itself is fine big enough, clean and in good working order. However, they made the entrance to the bathroom too narrow. If no one is in the bathroom it works as it is wide enough to fit a wheelchair by itself. But at intermission when everyone is in the bathroom it's impossible to get in and out without making a brunch of people move out of the way. Luckily at my age I don't have a problem speaking up and getting people to move out of the way. But it is a terrible design and a big hassle to deal with. I did also have someone see me then rush pass me into the bathroom to pass all the empty normal stalls so she could use the accessible stall to take a poo , she must have wanted the extra room. So that took a while as I sit waiting for the only stall I could use and than I got to enjoy the smell. 🤢
They are used as broom closet in many venues, stuffed full of rubbish, even whole Christmastrees/decorations, where i could hardly reach the sink to wash my hands. Plus since i have an ostomy and not in a wheelchair, i oftentimes have to go through lengths in able to have them grant me access. Many are locked.
I particularly dislike when the hand dryer or paper towels are placed behind you at the sink, trying to manouver a wheelchair with wet hands is impossible. Thanks also for bringing up the pedal bin issue, NHS Lothian, pay attention, I've already pointed this out, no change, but this is an establishment that also stores walkers and other detritus in the disabled toilets, they clearly don't care.
Went on a long drive through regional Australia last week, found some absolute gems Accessible toilet is present in the outside public toilet block, but is locked in the middle of the day, and there is no number to call to ask to be let in Another outside public toilet, on the accessible toilet door, someone has written in biro "do not lock door, lock is faulty" And at the ski lodge, the accessible loo was just one stall at the very end of the room of about twenty regular stalls. Inside the gendered toilet area. Same size as the other stalls. Wow. Just wow.
Excellent video! As a paraplegic who also has an ileostomy, the thought of going somewhere where I'm not familiar with the bathrooms is a nightmare. You made a great point concerning a place to put medical supplies. So many places, in fact most places here in The US at least don't have this. And many don't even have a trash can. It's not acceptable and I let them know of this. There are times when I have to completely change flange, you name it, the works. So to not have a ledge where I can place everything in order to change hygienically makes it very difficult. And also to be able to cath. Grrrrrrr
I have a colostomy, feeding tube, and a mediport and have dysautonomia and ehlers danlos syndrome. So I don't look disabled, but I can barely walk safely so I use a wheelchair when out and about. I have been told all of the hurtful things ignorant people say, including some family. They are embarrassed by my chair and make me feel like I am worthless and a fake and that I shouldn't use things that "real" disabled people need... It is very hurtful to hear, especially from family. They told me that I just needed to get up and walk. That causes me to pass out due to the dysautonomia...
Oh yeah, and the invisible disability thing: it is getting more common to have accessible bathrooms that are not just larger stalls with a changing table in the "normal" gendered bathrooms, but I have a vivid memory of before my EDS diagnosis (have had symptoms since 5th grade to my memory, since I was 3 if you ask my grandmother, but was officially diagnosed at 25) I was either in 12th grade or my 1st year of uni, and people always thought I looked like 4 years younger. As I was shopping, I needed to go to the washroom. When I went to pick up my bags, I noticed that I really needed to re-distribute the weight, so took a moment to do that and fix the KT tape on my shoulder. It took no more than 5 minutes, because I had a bus to catch in 15 minutes on the other side of the mall, and I know it takes me 8 minutes to get there. It was something that needed to be done for me to safely get home without completely dislocating my shoulder that had been bothering me. As I left the 1 accessible stall, there were all 5 other stalls available... and this like 25 yo woman literally was blocking my way out, had been there for a couple of minutes not saying anything until I opened the door, then she started to scold me for using that stall for long enough that I missed my bus... and then used one of the other 5 stalls. Unfortunately this one interaction really stick with me for a long time, and even now as someone who uses a cane and has become much more comfortable with my limitations, especially knowing what causes them, I still feel bad using the accessible parking when I'm not using my cane, or using the accessible stalls. Because of this and multiple other smaller interactions, it even took me over a year to ask my physiotherapist if it would be possible to get a parking permit, and she told me she had not wanted to bring it up because knowing me I would have been more stubborn if she had said it might me a good idea (i am literally the worst patient) but also that she had expected me to ask for one on the day that I rated the pain in my foot " walking on legos with every step, so like a 3/10" like, 2 years before thay... because most people would rate that higher than that, but also I should feel comfortable using the tools that I have access to in order to not feel like there is a Lego stuck in my shoe longer than is needed...
I'm with you on lighter doors, automatic bins and changing rooms. Buttons to flush are too far behind to press. Also very low toilets that takes a fair amount of strength to lower safely and lift again, while redressing. Would love ❤❤ the public disabled bathrooms only being accessed by those who are disabled. Maybe using our access card.
My husband is hemiplegic after a stroke and can only move his right limbs. In the US (where we live), most accessible bathrooms only have a bar on one side of the toilet, and it's about a 50/50 chance of it being on the right side. When the bar is on the left, it doesn't do much good since he can't move his left arm or hand to use it. When we visited Europe, the accessible bathrooms had a drop down bar on whichever side didn't have a wall with a bar. It made every bathroom work for him. It's such a simple addition, but I've only seen it in a few places in the US.
I'm trans so I use the family/disabled restroom at work as both normal gendered bathrooms make me feel uncomfortable, and on top of that I use either a walker or a wheelchair depending on the day, and way too many people use the family/disabled restroom to poop in private. It is beyond annoying that I have to sit with my walker and wait for people to come out and they almost never seem bothered that I've been waiting?
I used to work in a council owned building accessible to the public. I had to do building checks before opening, and my manager was very keen that we checked that the cord hangs freely. Once, during a function, a little girl managed to lock herself into the accessible toilet, not sure if she knew to pull the cord or just thought, what's this?, but that alerted us to check on the room, as her parents had not even noticed she had disappeared!
Great points! I just had a thought about that cord. If a young child could find their way up the ♿️ restroom/stall, the red cords that look with my vision to be very bendy and lots of slack. That little girl could have possibly got caught up in the cord ? Which I suppose at even a 2 yr olds weight if they did get caught in it , it would sound the alarm? I’m not sure who is in charge in a place to rescues the alarm but I hope it would be foolproof. I was thinking above having a cord, similar to our charging cords, but with the thick outer casing for better protection , I’ve seen something somewhere thst was a cord of some sort but had been encased in a thin layer of stainless steel, for easy disinfecting purposes too? Then nobody could tie it in a knot or otherwise make it useless or dangerous for a child or adult and only with the best cutting pliers I think would they have to plan a deliberate sabotage. 💜
The new standards for disabled bathrooms in Japan are AMAZING. The doors have to be a sliding pocket door with a button (so it doesn't get in your way from either side and you don't have to push it). They also have changing tables, hoists and pull cords in most large places (like Tokyo Disneyland and major museums).
It's hard when older people will tut at me because I am using an accessible toilet. They have no idea that I have a pad full of poo. Then I get in there any the only bins are sanitary ones or similar and they are just too small to try and squeeze an adult pad and it's contents into without making a huge mess. It's really frustrating that accessible toilets don't even have bins big enough for continence wear to go in.
Oh yeah, the stupid layouts of some supposedly accessible bathrooms! Some cafés etc have only one toilet, which is allegedly for everyone, and they try and fail to make it accessible... but I've actually left notes with the staff several times, telling them things like "you NEED to move the toilet roll holder; I'm short and clumsy but otherwise ablebodied and _I_ could barely reach it!" or "the grab bars are broken/missing". Let's all speak up, whether we personally need the accessibility or not!
Hi I have a invisible disability! Using the accessible bathroom is easier for me because there’s a lot of space. Or like on trains I need to sit down, and because I’m young and I don’t “look disabled” it’s quite difficult to leave the house. Even when I do use my cane people don’t understand and won’t leave me a seat or let me in the bathroom.
A year &1/2 ago, my mom , who had been a roller walker user, fell & dislocated her shoulder. While she was recovering, she used a wheelchair. She was unable to transfer herself, we had to lift her from the wheelchair to her recliner, toilet,etc. After a doctor visit, my brother & I took her out to lunch. She had to use the toilet while we were at the restaurant. The so called handicapped stall was the same width as the regular stall , just a little longer. I could get her into the stall, but there was no room for me to be stand to lift her without putting pressure on her shoulder. She had to wear a brace that was like keeping a basketball under her arm ( to keep her arm from slipping out of the socket) I eventually got mom on to the toilet, but not before she had an accident and wet her clothes. She felt humiliated & I don’t blame her. We are ended up getting lunch to go, went home. I got her cleaned up and then we ate our lunch. All could have been avoided if the handicapped stall was an actual handicapped stall
One thing I always do when going out n reviewing a place I do a washroom review and it's at times surprising how well recieved the reviews are (by users, but also the locations). I've had a few locations actually change their access WC and then invite me to come back again to see if anything else could be done. In general I'm a ambulatory wheelchair user, but I am a full time service/assistance dog handler. So as invisible as my disability might be at times with a SA/SD it does tend to call attention to the fact I do have a disability that requires assistance of some sort. One of my pet peeves is moms allowing their children to peek or worse yet crawl under stalls doors (talk about an unwanted invasion of privacy, not to mention those who do it because they see a "doggie" oi oi oi the number of words I've had with those ppl is numerous). Majority of WCs in restaurants are singles and meet the bear minimum for accessibility so that means for someone who uses a cane or Walker but not a wheelchair unfortunately, which is ultra annoying since often the halls leading to them isnt wide enough for someone who has more than a 22" base or it is but not by much, so a 24 might not even fit at all. And dont get me started on stalls that double as a changing room for children those are a epic one that is rampant (though in newer builds they are slowly starting to move away from it, but sadly McDonald's and most fast food restaurants are rampant with this particular issue.
Ugh yes! I hate it when the ONE accessible stall also doubles as changing room for babies and toddlers (with no other changing tables for them even elsewhere) as it makes us have to battle with the entitled parents for the right to not wet ourselves while they parade outside the accessible bathroom to change the diaper of their little offspring who wouldn’t die if waiting for 5 more minutes before the diaper got changed, or could have just had the diaper changed on a surface elsewhere and not necessarily in the one accessible stall! I don’t mind there being a changing table in accessible stalls because disabled people are parents too, but to always just put the table there (and the entitled parents never fold it up after themselves either) and not have a changing area elsewhere is just so annoying!
@@natalieedwards2688 In the council building where I worked there was an alarm in the office. The building was a concert venue, and the office staffed between 9-5. In the evening or at the weekend you had to rely on staff working the bar to see the light outside the toilet or hear the alarm. Luckily when help was needed once at the weekend I heard it, although it took me a few moments to identify it.
I suffer from chronic migraines and have really wacky blood pressure and get lightheaded when pooping (I've fainted from the blood pressure drop while pooping before) so I use the disabled toilet for that reason.. need to have access to be able to call for help.. I'm glad I've never had to use it before. 2 of my brothers have autism and full time carers so they get the roomy, quiet bathrooms too to avoid sensory overload.
I have ADHD and autism and a rare genetic disorder that use to cause childhood sizures. I remember being about 10 there was a really long que for the toilets and my condition causes kindey / stomach pains. So I used the accessible bathroom. I was about 5 minutes max. When I come out I woman in a wheelchair raised her voice at me and asked me why had I been in there and told me that it was only for disabled people. I remember being really scared by her. I'm still scared of using an accessible bathroom and just put up with the pain now. I'm 20 now so this is counting to affect me 10 years later. So thank you for mentioning hidden disabilities
Thanks for sharing your story! Sorry that happened to you, that really isn't okay. I don't know if you're in the UK or another country that does them, but I always feel so much more confident using the disabled bathroom when I'm wearing my sunflower lanyard!
At a hospital I had an appointment at they changed the only unlocked accessible bathroom to a COVID positive bathroom but it only has CP on the door. It was shocking and they didn't have the key to unlock the other which meant I had to go back upstairs to use the bathroom
I don’t think I have ever seen or used an adjustable sink in a public place. The U.S. is really pretty behind in accessibility if we can’t even put up emergency pull chords. The only places I have occasionally seen those are in hospitals.
When I was in hospital at Leeds General for a few months the ward had red sticks instead of emergency red cords (probably an anti ligature measure), only major downside was the Red emergency sticks only came down about halfway and not to the ground!!! And this was in a hospital! So on the couple of occasions when I had a fall the only way to get help was to call out and hope someone could hear you.
I have a hidden disability and when there isn't a RADAR lock on the door I feel shamed when walking out of a normal lock toilet especially if a person who has a VISIBLE disability is waiting to go in... awkward!!
I don’t think I have ever seen a bathroom door with an automatic button here in the US. The American with Disabilities Act says that doors should not require more that 5 pounds of force to open. Even if someone can push/pull that much, it is often difficult to maneuver a wheelchair or mobility aid while opening a door. I feel like the ADA guidelines were written so many years ago that some of the technology wasn’t around to include automatic buttons in the wording.
Thanks for sharing this. There have been and are many times I opt out and hold it…but then yeah I really can’t. But the bathroom that is supposedly accessible is not.
My biggest complaint about bathrooms and handicap accessibility have to with the doors especially with how they open. I didn't have a problem with waiting for a handicap accessible stall to become available. I had to to use them for a short period of time after breaking my left foot while I was out somewhere using a knee scooter. My biggest complaint about my apartment complex is kind of related to this and that would be how high of a step there is right outside of my apartment.
Yessssssss. So many import points. Also not having a mirror in there can be problematic too when relying on the mirror to access central line coupled with no surfaces which is problem. As a person who has an invisible disability (when not using a mobility aid) I’ve experienced soo much judgement. And yeh toilets being too low. Wait. I’ve not ever seen a height adjustable sink!?? And yeh lack of maintenance of the toilet is redic
I was in M&S at the weekend, as well as a main disabled toilet, they also had one for non wheelchair users in the main women's toilets. Great I thought, that's perfect for me, I could use a little extra room, but no, there's no lock!! Forgive me M&S, but I want to poo in peace!
That thing with automatically fluching and sencory sinks and soap dispenser is actually really difficult for blind people to use. Much better to have longer handels that reach further out and so you get a bit of leverage 😊
I got stuck in a disabled toilet because the lock was a tiny nub you had to rotate. It was in our national football stadium and my hands were cold and stiff which didn't help. I have the opposite problem with the mirrors in my local stadium, they've recently 'done up' the toilets and removed the large mirrors that everyone could use and replaced them with smaller ones low down which, while good for people in wheelchairs, are only any good to let me see my belly button.
One of my pet peeves is when they don’t have a sink inside the accessible stall. It’s not required and rare where I am to have a sink inside the stall but it’s so nice when I come across one that does. Otherwise, If I don’t have any wipes with me, I have to use my dirty hands to push myself/hold my cane or crutches to get to the sink 🤢
I went to one where the door was wide it had good grab bars but it was shallow so you couldn't actually shut the door and transfer onto the toilet. So I could choose to potentially soil myself or have an audience...
As someone who has an invisible disability and always uses the disabled toilet I was always scared to use them but I’m glad I never have been questioned. Now I use a crutch and have a sunflower lanyard so my disability is more visible but one thing that will always upset me is when the red cord is tied up I’m a fall risk, one thing that does make me happy is the hospital I go too always has the red cord hanging down and it also had one of the euans guide red emergency cord cards which makes me very happy 😃
In the US accessible toilets are stalls in regular bathrooms. They are bigger than regular stalls and have grab bars. I am ambulatory and use an electronic wheelchair. It annoys when the stall isn't big enough to properly accommodate my chair. So sometimes I can't close the stall door. So I get to sacrifice my privacy. Hopefully people will notice a wheelchair in the doorway of the stall and not peek in. I am impressed with what UK accessible toilets have to offer. Here in the US I have only ever seen red cords in medical facilities. I have never seen a flat surface to set your meds on. That's brilliant. In most places in the US an accessible toilet us just a larger stall with a couple of grab bars. It seems like places just do the absolute minimum to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA went into effect July of 1990 and I still encounter accessibility issues.
Recent trip to London. Kings Cross station disabled toilet. It has all the usual features and no baby changing facility. Yet i had to sit in my wheelchair and wait five minutes for a mum to exit with a pram and two toddlers. (I was desperate to go to the loo). She had used the disabled toilet as shr didn’t want to leave her pram and children on the other side of the normal toilet door. I understand why she did it but it was so frustrating for me. When i have to go, i have to go. It’s not like i have the opportunity to use the “normal “ toilets.
Where I live the disabled bathrooms are almost the same as the non disabled bathroom stalls. It’s a toilet in a stall. Disabled stalls have more room and a bar on the wall. That’s it. No sinks, counters, changing stations or mirrors. Most of the time there is no cord either. The sinks are all in the front of the bathroom for everyone to use after. I imagine the sinks, soap and mirrors can be difficult or in some cases even impossible for wheelchair users to use. There is a sanitary disposal bin in all stalls then the rest of the bins are large open bins in the front with the sinks so at least those don’t have the foot pedals.
In 2018 I went to the state fair. They had a brand new building. The restroom was not what I would consider to be accessible. It wasn’t large enough for a wheelchair & the stall was a regular stall with bars. That was it! I was using a scooter & had to leave it outside. The automatic doors to get into the building weren’t working so you had to manually open the doors 😡.
My daughter is in a wheelchair and it's so difficult to change her. She's too big for the baby changing table but I use those when there isn't any other option than the floor!!!
The thing that is most annoying is when people feel entiteled to use the accessible toilets. I have a Service Dog and need to use the accessible toilet. Just the other day there where two Ladys using it and they were very rude. Not ok...One time there was a Mom with 4 children who used it and im perfectly fine with that. And she even appologised and was very kind.
The ugly truth about accessible toilets, these are my pet peeves, what are yours?
Why Not check out my passed videos? Thank you everyone who sent in photos for me to use. :)
These comments hurt
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Never do this to a wheelchair user. EVER
ruclips.net/video/nPZkPJAXDaQ/видео.html
These Disability stereotypes need to stop
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I have POTS and EDS, using a disabled toilet when I’m not in my wheelchair I feel so bad! But if I faint somewhere that doesn’t have a red cord I could be a massive issue - I could be there for ages unable to move. And then having Karen’s accusing me of being a liar and invalid me is so ANNOYING
As a person how is visually impaired and has adrenal failure and also may be a fall or trip risk using accessible bathrooms is easier but I hate when bathrooms don’t have pull cords cause it scares me cause if I fall and can’t get up it’s dangerous so for people who have business and such if you come across this pls consider putting emergency pull cords in your restroom.
I went to the doctors and had to go to the bathroom "disabled friendly" buttt the toilet and sink next to each other so I could not transfer and very skinny for a NHS doctors I was very disappointed
I am shocked that there’s such a thing as “The red cord!?” That is an incredible and I never even thought it were possible!? It’s in our hospital bathrooms(well in patient rooms) not in the public area bathrooms though which I am feeling is odd? What an amazing thing to have! Brilliant, although lol seriously, I would be wondering where I live, who’s answering that toilet alarm? Clearly there’s have to be carefully thought out and planned rules and protocols in place for that feature but it’s absolutely a needed safety feature. I have fallen, thank God only at home, but if I were to have your courage etc, I’d be out more but therefore be at more risk if on an independent outing. Suks though that other people tie them out of reach or even cut them! That makes me mad. Wonder if they could make it out of a non pliable cord maybe wrapped it in stainless steel with a button, then I couldn’t be wrapped into a tied knot or be cut, but buttons aren’t always doable for everyone either…..I’ll have to think on that one. 💜👩🏻🦽✋
@@elenaxoxo4677 💜 totally agree! Falls and fainting and seizures are so much more common than most non-disabled and non-affected people realize until they experience it personally or with a loved one.
thank you for remembering those of us with invisible disabilities.
Here here, we’ll said. The amount of abuse I get when I use the disabled facility. I wear a colostomy bag so have to use them.
When I (female) was a child with disabilities it was sometimes difficult to go out with my dad because sometimes the only accessible toilets were within the block of male or female. Some people have carers that are a different gender and this is not always considered.
Totally agree. I've cared for my stroke-surviving husband for 10 years and always appreciate finding a "family" or unisex bathroom. Lately we've done some day trips around our part of the state (Washington, USA) and struggled to find a bathroom he could get into. He usually walks with a quad cane but can only lift his weak foot a few inches unless his one useable hand is gripping a secure grab bar. Often, there'll be a step, either with grab bar on only one side, neither side, or wobbly so he's afraid to use it. Worse is trying to find a hotel room with a shower he feels safe in. We pretty much need to bring a tub transfer chair because tubs rarely have grab bars, and if the accessible shower has a seat, 50/50 chance it's bolted to the wrong side relative to his paralyzed arm.
I’m eternally grateful to the lgbtqplus community for putting all gender bathrooms on the map. I’m cis and heterosexual and I often need help from my husband.
I have mostly hidden disabilities and am also an ambulatory stick user. I used a disabled toilet once. It was remarkably clean and well laid out. The problem came when I was leaving and someone screamed at me "You can't use that. You're not disabled" My reply was "Oh, so you've got CT - O - Vision and can see my neurological problems and the hole I have in the base of my spine, which causes me crippling pain?" I had similar issues at a former workplace too, where they used them as a storeroom. Their excuse : "We don't employ disabled people (meaning wheelchair users) on the shopfloor, so it's not generally used" My reply : "But you employ me and I'm listed as disabled for your insurance purposes. Therefore, I'm allowed to have access!" Keep up the good work 👍 😊
Exactly- do people need to wear a blue badge around their neck now ? I seriously would never dare say that to anyone as exactly as you explain not all disability is visible or how the rest of the world think it should be and present itself! 🙏🏻❤️
My biggest pet peeve is how only one stall in a bathroom is set up for disability, even in medical centers.
About a years ago a woman who worked at my local supermarket decided to take upon herself to OUT me for using an accessible toilet because I was younger and didn't 'look' disabled. I didn't have to but I explained about my illness and how invisible illnesses may need someone to use an accesible toilet and that she shouldn't judge nor embarrasse a person, after all how will people understand and learn if we don't try to educate them.
However she chuffed, huffed and walked off like she was 'the champion'.
1 year later and my degenerative disease has progressed quickly and drastically and I'm now a full time wheelchair user, I used the toilet and required my husbands assistance, I saw the same woman at customer service desk and my husband literally noticed her smiled and said "happy now. Is she disabled enough for you!? " she looked mortified possibly not even remembering her previous comments to me.
I have to admit the bad experience had stuck with me and caused me enxiety using the facilities in the future; but I never realised how badly it had stuck with my hubby too. I didn't complain at his childish comment because I realised she'd upset and offended him as much as she had myself and I felt a little dig was actually quite justified. 😉
I've had very similar situations. It has actually gotten to the point where I don't tell my husband and these incidents because I don't want him to feel the pain that I know he feels in these situations.
I would have done the same thing that you did. I can't stand when people are arrogant and ignorant at the same time.
I had multiple instances like this to the point that even now as a full time wheelchair user I still get nervous
You should have written to the manager. Its wrong to be dissing someone that's disabled or different in any other way for that matter! The only people that are qualified to judge your disability are you and your medical team. Others don't get a look-in on this issue!
My uni building doesn’t have a single accessible bathroom. The closest is across the street. When I need to use mobility aids it gets tricky because I’m worried about getting stuck in the normal stalls! The first and only time I’ve seen a stall for ambulatory disabilities was at the Sidney opera house funnily enough, and it was great. I wish they were more prevalent. I also noticed recently that at Gatwick airport there are signs outside of the accessible toilet that say “Not all disabilities are visible”. Loved that :)
Invisible disability here. I find any bathroom with hand rails extremely helpful as many of my joint hyper extend and hurt a lot. I will say though having my disability be invisible though is frustrating. I have had multiple people, workers, and even other disabled people yell at my. It’s frustrating.
I had a first episode of harassment because of not so visible disability. I'm unable to walk much because I have a progressive neuropathy caused by a chronic blood cancer. I was using my wheelchair to carry my inflatable kayak to the sea..using the wheelchair as a walker at the same time. The know-all interloper videoed/photographed me & said he was going to post it on RUclips, saying "It's simply not done"( my use of my wheelchair!). I frequently use the same technique for getting my shopping from my car to my flat. I wish people would stop being judgemental without even bothering to find out the facts. The guy concerned didn't even ask if I was disabled, just assumed I wasn't, perhaps because I went kayaking? My legs are more severely affected than my arms, so its something I'm still able to do! 🤬🤯
This is why I - as a wheelchair user - never assume. If someone uses the accessible toilet, I assume they have a good reason for it. Period. I once had to wait for a man who sprinted up the stairs after he used the bathroom. My friend asked me if I wasn't annoyed. I wasn't. Maybe he had an ostomy, used a catheter, or maybe he was just claustrophobic for all I care. And if not... so? In my mind, it's an accessible toilet meaning people who need the extra facilities are ABLE to use it, but it's not like a disabled parking space that's JUST for the disabled. But I get why not everyone thinks of it that way. I've had years where I couldn't hold it at all if I had to go. But still, I try not to judge others when I don't know a thing about them.
@@sisterthesister4870 I think it does depend though as I’ve had a lot of people look very embarrassed when they come out and apologise, without me saying anything to them. I never confront anyone as there has been days I’ve been walking and used accessible bathrooms, but I do get annoyed if people are just using it because they can’t be bothered to wait (this happens a lot in my uni library).
@@charlottehesketh9703 same. There’s one theatre where the disabled toilet is right next to the ladies. I can’t get to it when people are queuing in front of it and you see people stand in the queue for a bit then start using the disabled bathroom so I’m there waiting when they don’t need to use it. I CANT STAND UP FOR LONG. Ugh I hate ut
I have an invisible disability (Fibro) and i am in and out of a wheelchair. the only time i have ever felt hated for using a disabled bathroom when not using my wheel chair is by people with kids. sometimes the Disabled bathrooms have changing stations for baby's and i get a look of death or a scoff off the mothers/farther but i have never felt hated by another disabled person.
Yes they put baby changing facilities in disabled toilets- totally wrong. Some places do have nursing rooms where you can feed and change your baby and I have to say things have changed a lot since I got into trouble for nursing my newborn baby in the corner of Alders Cafe , we were in a corner and she and I were completely covered in a shawl so unless you actually had a really good stare there’s no way “it was disgusting and shouldn’t be allowed where people are eating” yes and “why can’t you do that in the toilet” she was referring to the disabled toilet ? Yep another woman complained that I was breast feeding my tiny infant in the corner of a Cafe and believed that it was justified for me to sit and give my daughter her food on a toilet? That was 26 years ago so we’ve move on a bit from then I hope!
Gotta love the “accessible” toilet that is not even wide enough to get a wheelchair through the door. Had this experience earlier this year.
If I had a nickel for every time…
I'm an ambulatory wheelchair user and last year nipped into a garden centre to use the loo. I used the disabled one because I use intermittent catheters so I need to have a sink in the same space to wash my hands before and after. The loo was beside the door so didn't take my wheelchair in. When I came out there was a mother and child waiting and the Mum made a comment about how I shouldn't have used it (it was a disabled loo, NOT parent and child) and I literally had a bag of catheters in my hand. If I had been less paranoid about covid and just getting out I would have said something.
My pet peeve is that too often the sinks are tiny so there's not really room to get your hands under the tap or the taps are too powerful for the small sink and splash over the side of the sink into your lap.
Perhaps a place to hold your cane or crutches when using the toilet.
The changing tables being in the handicapped toilets are almost everywhere around me now. I get parents want privacy for changing, but they really need to find somewhere else. The changing tables are rarely ever folded back up, so you roll into a stall and there’s a changing table right at your throat, it’s a hard reach to push back up to locking position from a wheelchair too.
I’ll add two more pet peeves. No sanitary trash in the handicapped stall. It’s an often missed accessory. It will be in all the other stalls but not the handicapped. Like handicapped people don’t have a period?!
Then toilet paper left all over the floor. It can make transfers very dangerous as the toilet patter is slick.
Ok one more. I often see signs of theft in the handicapped stall. Pulled tags thrown on ground in there etc. I’m sure they use it as it’s always at the back of a restroom and bigger.
Really valid additional issues!💜
@@CanadianMum444 thank you 😊
I forgot about the changing tables. Yea it's annoying when people don't put them back. Yea they shouldn't be in the disabled stall. I need that stall for my wheelchair. You can change your baby in the common area.
One bathroom I went to in a shopping center was enooormous. You could easily fit at least 5 manual wheelchair users at one time. So it probably was perfect for people with electric chairs which take up more space. BUT! The toliet was in one end, then the sink after that at the wall to the right..and after THAT came the toilet paper dispenser. So unless you hade someone with you for those who need help there were no chance in hell to reach the paper from the toilet. And when I need to go I really need to go and there is no time to stop on the way to gather up toilet paper….bad placement!
Bad placement is something I’ve seen in a lot of places.
@@cameronsheach6684 So true…
I am in the US. Some problems I have encountered are: 1) the stall is too small to turn around in the wheelchair and sometimes even can't close the door. 2) the grab bars around a lot of toilets seem more designed to help people who can stand, because they are high up/not that close to the toilet. 3) the toilet is sometimes pretty low. 4) the bowl is shallow (don't know if this is specific to accessible toilets) and my clothes may get in the water/it's hard to insert a catheter without getting my hand in the toilet water. Red cords are not much of a thing in the US. Have seen some in doctor's offices. Have not come across too many being used as storerooms. Long ago my eye doctor's office had a toilet marked with the wheelchair symbol on the door but even a regular sized wheelchair could not get through the door. Once I went to a YMCA and they kept the accessible bathroom locked and could not find the key. Accessible toilet or not, a lot of women stand up to use the public toilets and don't clean up the urine splashes afterward. I don't have a choice to stand so I have to clean it first.
For some bizarre reason, the disabled toilet at my last place of work had walls that were covered in mirrored glass. Four walls of mirrors! It was really disorientating and unnecessary, I wonder what the designer had been thinking!
I also echo the pet peeve when the accessible bathroom does not have surface areas.
I am a type 1 diabetic, and I prefer some of my management to be private. I have had to do insulin injections and infusion set changes by balancing my kit on the bar beside the toilet or on the corner of the sink because the accessible bathroom did not have a changing area/shelf. Chronic illnesses are already enough to cope with that it is more than an "annoyance" when additional spoons than usual are used for a task.
I am an 'invisible disabled'. I have nerve damage/Fibro mialgia(very bad), adrenal insufficiency, damaged spine (collapsed disks and fusing vertbrea (plus a host of other conditions.) I use a mobility scooter and when very bad my carer has to wash/dress(and yes help on the loo). Yet I look 'normal'! I had often had looks and comments using the disabled loos. Ironically from older people. I stopped going to the local swimming pool (I used to use the spa as the heat helps the pain), because of ladies using the accessible changing room as their own private 'pampering room'! They would spend over an hour in there whilst I was stood outside wet and getting very cold waiting to get showered and changed. One lady gave me a right telling off because I used 'her room'! Pull cords are all too often tied up or evencut off.
Worst I've encountered was a Handicap stall at a RV park. I found out the hard way that the grab bars on one side were just mounted with plastic dry wall anchors. Fortunately I wasn't hurt, but completely disgusted because I had already removed my shorts and underwear. (Bilateral above knee amputee) and was now laying on the floor of essentially a public bathroom.
Now the first thing I do is test the bars to make sure they are mounted properly. I still feel dirty and in need of a shower just thinking of how nasty that floor probably was and how long I was stuck there. I have never been in a handicap restroom outside of a medical facility that had an emergency cord. Needless to say I was stuck on the floor for about 30 minutes until my wife started to worry and came and checked on me.
I'm dumbfounded. I used to think that accessible toilets need to fulfill certain regulations, to meet these necessities. I can't believe nobody is supervising this. I'm truly astounded.
I think that’s a brilliant idea !
I remember when a building at my university was out of bounds for a month due to making it more accessible. They had put in wheelchair accessible slopes on each access point of the building but seems they forgot about the 8-10 steps outside to actually get in? It was infuriating as we all know they get funding and quite a lot of it to ensure the buildings are accessible by all ! As someone said earlier, should be someone checking up on this and a criteria created , so if they get it wrong they pay to have it sorted!
Just wanted to thank you for the non-visible disability reminder. Can't tell you how many dirty looks I've gotten over the years. Actually been called out about it a few times.
Also:
Lightswitches so high up that there is no way someone could reach it from a wheelchair,
locked accessible bathrooms (or ones that can't be locked when in use),
bathrooms with a tap you have to push down to turn it on,
no handlebar on the door so you could just easily pull the door closed,
And if facilities don't have accessible bathrooms would it be so hard to add one or two handlebars to their regular ones!? Sometimes that would make a huge difference.
Sometimes I think that the people designing "accessible" places for people with disabilities think that we are transformers or something.
That bit about bathrooms being dangerous is so true. The amount of times I’ve nearly had a terrible injury, or have hurt myself in a bathroom is insane. Even with using the shower chair we have at home and such. Bathrooms are scary 😳
Accessible bathrooms, and dressing rooms for that matter, being used as storage rooms has been the biggest issue I've come across. So frustrating! Thankfully I can stand/walk enough to get out of my wheelchair to use the restroom but it's still a pain to deal with. Especially when the stuff is blocking the metal bars.
I'm U.S. based with an invisible disability (chronic pain). It's a gamble finding a clean bathroom in my area. There's always someone in the accessible stall and as soon as they see me outside the door waiting it's the typical "Sorry, it's just so roomy" bit. The only place I've seen with a "Red Cord" type setup was the hospital. They're not really a thing in public here (at least not in my area.)
I've had people accuse me of stealing my cane from my grandparent and one person even tried to take my cane from me. In my chair people are a lot more "nice" but there's always at least one person with the "you're too young for all that" spiel. I've gotten pretty good at telling those kind of people to shove off, assuming whoever I'm with doesn't beat me to it.
agreed on the red cord.
Ive seen occasionally red cord @ dr offices & ERs not in public bathrooms in the US
I live in the U.S. (New England) and I’ve seen one of those cords in a public bathroom once but it didn’t reach the floor (and it was only once).
I'm on the west coast and same, the red cords are only in medical buildings.
I've been a wheelchair user for about a year now and before that I thought disability bathrooms were pretty accessible until I had to use them. I can hardly turn around in them in my area. It also makes it more difficult since I also have a service dog, so I have to make sure she has enough room to move with me.
This was really interesting. I’ve recently started helping my grandmother who is a new wheelchair user and have come across many frustrating aspects of accessible bathroom I totally agree that so many times there’s a bunch of things stuff in one corner which means it’s really awkward to reach anything. I’ve also found that when I’m helping her transfer there’s often not enough room for me to do that while giving her enough space to reach the bar and not being squashed against something like the sink or the wall. Use it for storage place is a lot here in the US as well
When there are no lowered hooks to hang your coat, bag, purse, etc. especially when you lay your coat across the sink and the sink automatically turns on and now you have a wet coat. 😱😱
So many of the “disabled toilets” that I cannot get into. They’re usually unbelievably rare. My chair only fits specific toilets. So many places say they’re accessible but I can’t even move in certain “accessible “ bathrooms
A lot of our campus accessible bathrooms have fire doors which are on the struts that make them incredibly heavy… it’s so hard to get into and out of!
My school has six disabled bathrooms, but only one is actually accessible and the others are all ‘out of order’ and that one is always used by staff at my school so it’s always occupied. So annoying and I end up just holding it all day.
Love this girl. Great gutsy delivery. I'm currently quite disabled,. possibly soon to be more so, after a long non disabled life. This site is so full of helpful stuff. Utterly brilliant. Thank you.
Although I don’t need to use an accessible bathroom this still annoys me for people who do need it. My school has just installed an accessible washroom this past year and it’s way down the hall away from most of the classrooms we use. Almost as of they are ashamed of having it. Plus although they installed an automatic door button it doesn’t always work and the door is quite a heavy door.
My pet peeve is that child change rooms are often the same as disabled access toilets.
Yes. Two populations that need what we need and don’t have the luxury of time.
I live in France, they issue you with a card which states your disabled, you can use it in cues to go to the front or access disabled toilets etc (if you reside in France contact your local MDPH) As toilets go through take your own supply of loo roll, and they aren't always disabled friendly or so clean. And thank you for speaking out for disabled people, who on the whole don't get heard and In my experience get steamrollered because we in general lack the ability or energy to fight our corner.
My pet peeve is when the door opens into the stall and you can't actually wheel a chair in and be able to shut the door.
Those types of doors are one of my pet peeves also when people use the stall for a changing room ,also when toilet paper dispenser is behind you .
I hate it when accessible toilets are used as storage, totally makes the space inaccessible. Also really heavy toilet doors that are really hard to manage in a chair or mobility aid. It’s frustrating and can ruin my day out
I have ADHD and autism and I don't need an accessible bathroom. I wouldn't use one unless all the others were occupied and I _really_ needed to go. But in my teens/lower twenties I had fairly severe paruresis, where I really couldn't use toilets in those open-floor type cubicle bathrooms, so I just held it. Which is obviously bad for many reasons! But a big part of that condition, for me, was social anxiety, so I would never ever use the accessible ones (though they would for sure have helped me!) even when I was in agony needing to pee, because I'd just have felt so bad occupying one for someone who "actually" needed it and making them wait. :/
My pet peeve is when a children’s hospital only has ONE bathroom that has a giant changing table (not the flimsy baby ones). And since it is advertised as a family restroom it is often being used
I am with you all the way, I had to take a facilities manager at work into a toilet with me to show him the issues, uncomfortable, amongst the other issues is putting stuff, bins etc in the large space, if there is one, next toilet, the space is there for a reason grrrrrrrrr and electric hand dry placement so my powerchair hits them when moving the list is endless. Thank you for doing this
Here in America we have those horrid stalls, like the ones with about an inch or more gap in the doors. I don’t use a wheelchair (yet) I have an 80lbs mobility service dog. And I’ve had a kid use that gap to stare at my dog while I was trying to go to the bathroom. I don’t usually get mad at kids for being excited seeing a dog, but I did tell that kid off. God I wish bathroom stalls did not have those horrid gaps.
Edit: I’ve also had to wait for someone to change their clothes like you mentioned while almost pissing myself because my dog and I physically do not fit in normal stalls. Also there could be like 50+ normal stalls in busy places but only large enough for people who need it. So there is always a line for that one stall.
I've actually had quite a great experience with accessible bathrooms lately on a trip we went on. For starters, in a rest area they had both wheelchair accessible and ambulatory accessible stalls with grab bars so it wasn't as conflicting to decide if I should go in a wheelchair accessible stall or not. In another rest stop/store every stall had grab bars in addition to the usual wheelchair accessible stall. It really is sort of the bare minimum in terms of accessibility, but it was definitely more comfortable as someone with an invisible disability to be able to use an accessible stall without being as concerned about judgement or taking away from someone who 100% *needed* an accessible stall in order to use the restroom compared to me who it is helpful for, but not a necessity all the time
I don’t know why I didn’t get a notification from YT when you posted this video, maybe YT was afraid that my blood pressure would get to high 😀😜 everything you said in this video I also experienced. I think it’s really sad that we as a community have to often plan our lives around accessible bathrooms. So often I’m going out with friends for dinner, and because we don’t wanna visit the same two restaurants with an accessible toilet every time, I have to think about everything I’m drinking, and constantly hope that my bladder will be on my side and I can enjoy the evening and get home without any accident happening.
I really can’t keep track anymore how often the accessible toilet in a shop or restaurant was used for storage, because it’s so unlikely that somebody with a disability is coming along, so why not just use the space🙈🙈 I had lockers for employees and drinks stacked up to the ceiling, cleaning supplies and so much more put in those toilets. Sometimes the stuff could remove the things so I could use the toilet, but I had more than ones that there wasn’t a way for me to get into the toilet. And anyone who has a problem with controlling there bladder, can probably imagine how terrible that is. So the times that happened I had to get to my husband and tell him that the nice dinner or evening was over and that we either have to find another accessible toilet nearby or we have to get home asap😏 those moments really make me feel disabled, not me getting around in my wheelchair or having to cope with everything that comes with my illness.
This really need to change, and I think the best way to improve,really everything associated with disability, would be to just get a disabled person involved, it’s not rocket science. Don’t let abled bodied people, who don’t have a clue about disability, plan and design things and places that are for disability people. We clearly understood that for other groups, why doesn’t the society get it in this case.
Gem, thank you so much for making videos like this and doing campaigns for things we as a community really need, and need to change. 💜Katy
I rely on a hoist to access a toilet, trying to leave the house is almost impossible most of the time. For electric wheelchair users, standard accessible toilets are too small meaning you can’t even shut the door. No wonder why I had surgery for a suprapubic catheter to be put in and thinking of a colostomy too just so I can get some sort of a life back.
I use a power chair. It's annoying when I can't close the stall door.
Almost every time now when I actually find a disabled toilet, it's locked. So good luck finding the person who has the key and hoping they're not too busy (they will be) and that you're visibly disabled enough for them to actually let you in!
I really love when you are shopping and the check out counter is “accessible” and you can’t reach it.
I have several hidden disabilities, and so if I can, I use the disabled stall, if no one else needs it. It really helps to have the space and time with GI issues, as well as me having more space, because small restrooms can be very difficult for me to navigate the space especially when I’m in sensory overload.
Two recent issues
1) I use the single public washroom at my work (because there’s stairs up to the staff ones and really don’t want to spend spoons climbing stairs(aka my evil nemesis) or call someone for the stairlift). There’s always an issue. The last one was a used period pad left on the grab bar. I typically bring cleaning supplies and clean it first then use it.
2) A local Starbucks. This is both ironic and very annoying and ableist. There’s two single washrooms. One is general the second is accessible with the only infant/child changing table. The accessible one was locked with a sign on the door saying “staff only” AND there were high chairs blocking part of the doorway. I had to walk back to the order counter (dizzy and ‘not looking disabled’ because I was using my Nordic Walking poles) to ask them to open it and point out that it’s likely against the law or at least building codes.
The irony is that this is the public place where I’ve had one of if not the best customer service as a disabled person. I even wrote an email to head office.
(I’m in Toronto, Canada. Changing careers from special education to web development and living with EDS, MCAS, multiple dysautonomias, migraines, and SAD. I use two canes (on public transit), Nordic Walking poles, and courtesy wheelchairs at museums and etc.)
If you see this, I'd love to hear more about using the walking poles. I've been using two canes for years. Would like to use walking poles sometimes, but my ankles are full of metal and I lean heavily on my canes on hills. Would walking poles work for me?
@@ellen8996 Hi! So it's been a year. I'm so bad at catching up with RUclips comments.
My Nordic walking poles work for me better than my canes because I use them to push. My Achilles tendons are shot and I can't count the number of times I've sprained my ankles. Nordic walking poles with the "boot" type tips (which face the opposite way that your own feet in boots do, help provide momentum.
I have new folding ones. They fold in two places and then the top part under the handle adjusts by telescoping up or down. There's a clamp with two small knobs/screws. If you lean on your mobility aids a lot, make sure that the screws that make the clamp work are really tight.
Look for RUclips videos on xc ski pole hand grip. There's a certain way to hold Nordic walking poles and xc (Nordic) ski poles that give a lot of support and push. You need poles with straps on the grips and not the "Urban poling" brand / type.
I’ve only been in disability stalls where it isn’t its own room with a sink, I use a cane and think about all the germs getting on it because I have to do quite a bit of steps before being able to wash hands, and the paper towels aren’t right next to the sink so I have to choose between crashing into a garbage bin or getting the handle of my cane wet (which makes it slippery and it’s hard to dry). I’ve fallen in the bathroom quite a few times
same. i hate it.
I typically use a cane at school at it’s quite awkward telling 5 people to skip me in line because there’s only 1 disability stall with room for my cane and I’m late to class because people use it. I remember walking in during class with my cane and someone walked into the disability stall when 5 other stalls were available, as they started walking into the stall, they gave a wide eyed stare at my cane. When they left the stall I walked in and they knew full well I waited for them to be done. They looked a bit ashamed, but I’m guessing they’ll do it again
The door of the stall pushes into the space, instead of pulling to open out from it, and there's not enough room, either to the side of the toilet or in front of it, for you to get your wheelchair out the door's path to close it.
So often in the US you have to practically straddle the toilet to close the stall door. Not to mention all the spaces for peeping. UK toilets are much better designed for privacy.
I have..some thoughts. I only started needed mobility aids like a wheelchair last year at the start of a new semester at my uni. The building I'm in most of the day for my major is completely inaccessible while advertising it as such. For one class I needed to get into a theatre - one that the only entrance was to go down two flights of stairs. After having to ask staff, I finally found the one wheelchair entrance, which was behind three sets of locked doors. The bathrooms are especially infuriating- there's no red cord at all, the stalls are all incredibly thin, so i couldn't even get half of my wheelchair inside the one accessible stall in the entire building (which was on the third floor, and one of the elevators was out, so i had to push myself around the entire building to even get to an elevator). In the student union, there is also only one accessible stall per bathroom. I wheeled in, and there were 3 people inside the stall talking for a good ten minutes while i sat there, waiting, blocking the door so they would very much have to see me when they got out. Normally I would try not to judge, but it's three people with backpacks in their twenties, very much not caretakers, not a single mobility aid among them, and they looked absolutely terrified when they saw me; so I feel I have reason to be upset about them being in there.
Here in the US I have only ever seen red cords in medical facilities. Most places don't have a red cord.
My biggest pet peeve is when I can't reach the soap dispenser or paper towels! Nothing like not being able to wash your hands properly!
Tiny sinks - especially in accessible hotel rooms! I would like a chat with the person who thinks all disabled people have tiny hands and tiny faces. 🤣
I have an invisible disability. I’ve had disgustingly judgemental looks (and some incredibly rude comments) for using the accessible bathroom. I look physically fine, but I can’t physically use a non-accessible toilet. I also have mental health problems so these looks and comments do deter me from even going out at all, especially on my own. If I’m having a bad day mentally, I can’t cope with the judgement from others. So then to go out I’m reliant on family to advocate for me.
Toileting really shouldn’t be as complicated as it is, it’s really interesting to hear your perspective as a wheelchair user too. I completely relate to the not having a decent (or any) surface, trying to balance necessary items in a toilet setting is never fun!
By the way I don’t know if episodic paralysis is the right term but I have episodes where my sensation and ability to move my legs is severely impaired
I have had this issue since my lumbar spine sustained an injury in 2015 and due to my other conditions it’s too risky to operate so had to adapt to using a wheelchair as well as being born blind and having EDS
Don’t get me wrong I’d not change my life for anything but these accessibility issues really do try us
I love your videos gem I’ve watched them all several times and they have really helped me
Keep it up
There is one in a theater I go to in California that has an accessible stall with the regular stalls. The stall itself is fine big enough, clean and in good working order. However, they made the entrance to the bathroom too narrow. If no one is in the bathroom it works as it is wide enough to fit a wheelchair by itself. But at intermission when everyone is in the bathroom it's impossible to get in and out without making a brunch of people move out of the way. Luckily at my age I don't have a problem speaking up and getting people to move out of the way. But it is a terrible design and a big hassle to deal with. I did also have someone see me then rush pass me into the bathroom to pass all the empty normal stalls so she could use the accessible stall to take a poo , she must have wanted the extra room. So that took a while as I sit waiting for the only stall I could use and than I got to enjoy the smell. 🤢
They are used as broom closet in many venues, stuffed full of rubbish, even whole Christmastrees/decorations, where i could hardly reach the sink to wash my hands. Plus since i have an ostomy and not in a wheelchair, i oftentimes have to go through lengths in able to have them grant me access. Many are locked.
I particularly dislike when the hand dryer or paper towels are placed behind you at the sink, trying to manouver a wheelchair with wet hands is impossible. Thanks also for bringing up the pedal bin issue, NHS Lothian, pay attention, I've already pointed this out, no change, but this is an establishment that also stores walkers and other detritus in the disabled toilets, they clearly don't care.
Went on a long drive through regional Australia last week, found some absolute gems
Accessible toilet is present in the outside public toilet block, but is locked in the middle of the day, and there is no number to call to ask to be let in
Another outside public toilet, on the accessible toilet door, someone has written in biro "do not lock door, lock is faulty"
And at the ski lodge, the accessible loo was just one stall at the very end of the room of about twenty regular stalls. Inside the gendered toilet area. Same size as the other stalls. Wow. Just wow.
Excellent video! As a paraplegic who also has an ileostomy, the thought of going somewhere where I'm not familiar with the bathrooms is a nightmare. You made a great point concerning a place to put medical supplies. So many places, in fact most places here in The US at least don't have this. And many don't even have a trash can. It's not acceptable and I let them know of this. There are times when I have to completely change flange, you name it, the works. So to not have a ledge where I can place everything in order to change hygienically makes it very difficult. And also to be able to cath. Grrrrrrr
I have a colostomy, feeding tube, and a mediport and have dysautonomia and ehlers danlos syndrome. So I don't look disabled, but I can barely walk safely so I use a wheelchair when out and about. I have been told all of the hurtful things ignorant people say, including some family. They are embarrassed by my chair and make me feel like I am worthless and a fake and that I shouldn't use things that "real" disabled people need... It is very hurtful to hear, especially from family. They told me that I just needed to get up and walk. That causes me to pass out due to the dysautonomia...
Oh yeah, and the invisible disability thing: it is getting more common to have accessible bathrooms that are not just larger stalls with a changing table in the "normal" gendered bathrooms, but I have a vivid memory of before my EDS diagnosis (have had symptoms since 5th grade to my memory, since I was 3 if you ask my grandmother, but was officially diagnosed at 25)
I was either in 12th grade or my 1st year of uni, and people always thought I looked like 4 years younger. As I was shopping, I needed to go to the washroom. When I went to pick up my bags, I noticed that I really needed to re-distribute the weight, so took a moment to do that and fix the KT tape on my shoulder. It took no more than 5 minutes, because I had a bus to catch in 15 minutes on the other side of the mall, and I know it takes me 8 minutes to get there. It was something that needed to be done for me to safely get home without completely dislocating my shoulder that had been bothering me.
As I left the 1 accessible stall, there were all 5 other stalls available... and this like 25 yo woman literally was blocking my way out, had been there for a couple of minutes not saying anything until I opened the door, then she started to scold me for using that stall for long enough that I missed my bus... and then used one of the other 5 stalls.
Unfortunately this one interaction really stick with me for a long time, and even now as someone who uses a cane and has become much more comfortable with my limitations, especially knowing what causes them, I still feel bad using the accessible parking when I'm not using my cane, or using the accessible stalls. Because of this and multiple other smaller interactions, it even took me over a year to ask my physiotherapist if it would be possible to get a parking permit, and she told me she had not wanted to bring it up because knowing me I would have been more stubborn if she had said it might me a good idea (i am literally the worst patient) but also that she had expected me to ask for one on the day that I rated the pain in my foot " walking on legos with every step, so like a 3/10" like, 2 years before thay... because most people would rate that higher than that, but also I should feel comfortable using the tools that I have access to in order to not feel like there is a Lego stuck in my shoe longer than is needed...
I'm with you on lighter doors, automatic bins and changing rooms. Buttons to flush are too far behind to press. Also very low toilets that takes a fair amount of strength to lower safely and lift again, while redressing. Would love ❤❤ the public disabled bathrooms only being accessed by those who are disabled. Maybe using our access card.
We have the Radar Key.
My husband is hemiplegic after a stroke and can only move his right limbs. In the US (where we live), most accessible bathrooms only have a bar on one side of the toilet, and it's about a 50/50 chance of it being on the right side. When the bar is on the left, it doesn't do much good since he can't move his left arm or hand to use it. When we visited Europe, the accessible bathrooms had a drop down bar on whichever side didn't have a wall with a bar. It made every bathroom work for him. It's such a simple addition, but I've only seen it in a few places in the US.
I'm trans so I use the family/disabled restroom at work as both normal gendered bathrooms make me feel uncomfortable, and on top of that I use either a walker or a wheelchair depending on the day, and way too many people use the family/disabled restroom to poop in private. It is beyond annoying that I have to sit with my walker and wait for people to come out and they almost never seem bothered that I've been waiting?
I used to work in a council owned building accessible to the public. I had to do building checks before opening, and my manager was very keen that we checked that the cord hangs freely. Once, during a function, a little girl managed to lock herself into the accessible toilet, not sure if she knew to pull the cord or just thought, what's this?, but that alerted us to check on the room, as her parents had not even noticed she had disappeared!
Great points! I just had a thought about that cord. If a young child could find their way up the ♿️ restroom/stall, the red cords that look with my vision to be very bendy and lots of slack. That little girl could have possibly got caught up in the cord ? Which I suppose at even a 2 yr olds weight if they did get caught in it , it would sound the alarm? I’m not sure who is in charge in a place to rescues the alarm but I hope it would be foolproof. I was thinking above having a cord, similar to our charging cords, but with the thick outer casing for better protection , I’ve seen something somewhere thst was a cord of some sort but had been encased in a thin layer of stainless steel, for easy disinfecting purposes too? Then nobody could tie it in a knot or otherwise make it useless or dangerous for a child or adult and only with the best cutting pliers I think would they have to plan a deliberate sabotage.
💜
The new standards for disabled bathrooms in Japan are AMAZING. The doors have to be a sliding pocket door with a button (so it doesn't get in your way from either side and you don't have to push it). They also have changing tables, hoists and pull cords in most large places (like Tokyo Disneyland and major museums).
It's hard when older people will tut at me because I am using an accessible toilet. They have no idea that I have a pad full of poo. Then I get in there any the only bins are sanitary ones or similar and they are just too small to try and squeeze an adult pad and it's contents into without making a huge mess. It's really frustrating that accessible toilets don't even have bins big enough for continence wear to go in.
That is my number one pet peeve, when non disabled people use the stall that we need especially when there’s only one in that bathroom.
Oh yeah, the stupid layouts of some supposedly accessible bathrooms! Some cafés etc have only one toilet, which is allegedly for everyone, and they try and fail to make it accessible... but I've actually left notes with the staff several times, telling them things like "you NEED to move the toilet roll holder; I'm short and clumsy but otherwise ablebodied and _I_ could barely reach it!" or "the grab bars are broken/missing". Let's all speak up, whether we personally need the accessibility or not!
Hi I have a invisible disability! Using the accessible bathroom is easier for me because there’s a lot of space. Or like on trains I need to sit down, and because I’m young and I don’t “look disabled” it’s quite difficult to leave the house. Even when I do use my cane people don’t understand and won’t leave me a seat or let me in the bathroom.
A year &1/2 ago, my mom , who had been a roller walker user, fell & dislocated her shoulder. While she was recovering, she used a wheelchair. She was unable to transfer herself, we had to lift her from the wheelchair to her recliner, toilet,etc. After a doctor visit, my brother & I took her out to lunch. She had to use the toilet while we were at the restaurant. The so called handicapped stall was the same width as the regular stall , just a little longer. I could get her into the stall, but there was no room for me to be stand to lift her without putting pressure on her shoulder. She had to wear a brace that was like keeping a basketball under her arm ( to keep her arm from slipping out of the socket) I eventually got mom on to the toilet, but not before she had an accident and wet her clothes. She felt humiliated & I don’t blame her. We are ended up getting lunch to go, went home. I got her cleaned up and then we ate our lunch. All could have been avoided if the handicapped stall was an actual handicapped stall
One thing I always do when going out n reviewing a place I do a washroom review and it's at times surprising how well recieved the reviews are (by users, but also the locations). I've had a few locations actually change their access WC and then invite me to come back again to see if anything else could be done.
In general I'm a ambulatory wheelchair user, but I am a full time service/assistance dog handler. So as invisible as my disability might be at times with a SA/SD it does tend to call attention to the fact I do have a disability that requires assistance of some sort.
One of my pet peeves is moms allowing their children to peek or worse yet crawl under stalls doors (talk about an unwanted invasion of privacy, not to mention those who do it because they see a "doggie" oi oi oi the number of words I've had with those ppl is numerous).
Majority of WCs in restaurants are singles and meet the bear minimum for accessibility so that means for someone who uses a cane or Walker but not a wheelchair unfortunately, which is ultra annoying since often the halls leading to them isnt wide enough for someone who has more than a 22" base or it is but not by much, so a 24 might not even fit at all.
And dont get me started on stalls that double as a changing room for children those are a epic one that is rampant (though in newer builds they are slowly starting to move away from it, but sadly McDonald's and most fast food restaurants are rampant with this particular issue.
Ugh yes! I hate it when the ONE accessible stall also doubles as changing room for babies and toddlers (with no other changing tables for them even elsewhere) as it makes us have to battle with the entitled parents for the right to not wet ourselves while they parade outside the accessible bathroom to change the diaper of their little offspring who wouldn’t die if waiting for 5 more minutes before the diaper got changed, or could have just had the diaper changed on a surface elsewhere and not necessarily in the one accessible stall!
I don’t mind there being a changing table in accessible stalls because disabled people are parents too, but to always just put the table there (and the entitled parents never fold it up after themselves either) and not have a changing area elsewhere is just so annoying!
In the US, we don't have emergency cords. When you pull it, who is alerted? The staff there, or emergency personel?
The staff there are supposed to be alerted.
@@natalieedwards2688 In the council building where I worked there was an alarm in the office. The building was a concert venue, and the office staffed between 9-5. In the evening or at the weekend you had to rely on staff working the bar to see the light outside the toilet or hear the alarm. Luckily when help was needed once at the weekend I heard it, although it took me a few moments to identify it.
I suffer from chronic migraines and have really wacky blood pressure and get lightheaded when pooping (I've fainted from the blood pressure drop while pooping before) so I use the disabled toilet for that reason.. need to have access to be able to call for help.. I'm glad I've never had to use it before. 2 of my brothers have autism and full time carers so they get the roomy, quiet bathrooms too to avoid sensory overload.
I have ADHD and autism and a rare genetic disorder that use to cause childhood sizures. I remember being about 10 there was a really long que for the toilets and my condition causes kindey / stomach pains. So I used the accessible bathroom. I was about 5 minutes max. When I come out I woman in a wheelchair raised her voice at me and asked me why had I been in there and told me that it was only for disabled people. I remember being really scared by her. I'm still scared of using an accessible bathroom and just put up with the pain now. I'm 20 now so this is counting to affect me 10 years later.
So thank you for mentioning hidden disabilities
Thanks for sharing your story! Sorry that happened to you, that really isn't okay. I don't know if you're in the UK or another country that does them, but I always feel so much more confident using the disabled bathroom when I'm wearing my sunflower lanyard!
@@Myrtheltje I have a sunflower lanyard I'm 21 now they weren't a thing back then. :)
At a hospital I had an appointment at they changed the only unlocked accessible bathroom to a COVID positive bathroom but it only has CP on the door. It was shocking and they didn't have the key to unlock the other which meant I had to go back upstairs to use the bathroom
I don’t think I have ever seen or used an adjustable sink in a public place. The U.S. is really pretty behind in accessibility if we can’t even put up emergency pull chords. The only places I have occasionally seen those are in hospitals.
When I was in hospital at Leeds General for a few months the ward had red sticks instead of emergency red cords (probably an anti ligature measure), only major downside was the Red emergency sticks only came down about halfway and not to the ground!!! And this was in a hospital! So on the couple of occasions when I had a fall the only way to get help was to call out and hope someone could hear you.
I’m a crutch user, heavy doors are hard work when my hands are busy with trying to balance
I have a hidden disability and when there isn't a RADAR lock on the door I feel shamed when walking out of a normal lock toilet especially if a person who has a VISIBLE disability is waiting to go in... awkward!!
I don’t think I have ever seen a bathroom door with an automatic button here in the US. The American with Disabilities Act says that doors should not require more that 5 pounds of force to open. Even if someone can push/pull that much, it is often difficult to maneuver a wheelchair or mobility aid while opening a door. I feel like the ADA guidelines were written so many years ago that some of the technology wasn’t around to include automatic buttons in the wording.
Thanks for sharing this. There have been and are many times I opt out and hold it…but then yeah I really can’t. But the bathroom that is supposedly accessible is not.
My biggest complaint about bathrooms and handicap accessibility have to with the doors especially with how they open. I didn't have a problem with waiting for a handicap accessible stall to become available. I had to to use them for a short period of time after breaking my left foot while I was out somewhere using a knee scooter. My biggest complaint about my apartment complex is kind of related to this and that would be how high of a step there is right outside of my apartment.
Yessssssss. So many import points. Also not having a mirror in there can be problematic too when relying on the mirror to access central line coupled with no surfaces which is problem. As a person who has an invisible disability (when not using a mobility aid) I’ve experienced soo much judgement. And yeh toilets being too low. Wait. I’ve not ever seen a height adjustable sink!?? And yeh lack of maintenance of the toilet is redic
I was in M&S at the weekend, as well as a main disabled toilet, they also had one for non wheelchair users in the main women's toilets. Great I thought, that's perfect for me, I could use a little extra room, but no, there's no lock!! Forgive me M&S, but I want to poo in peace!
Not being able to turn the wheelchair... what is that about. Great content again 👏
That thing with automatically fluching and sencory sinks and soap dispenser is actually really difficult for blind people to use. Much better to have longer handels that reach further out and so you get a bit of leverage 😊
I got stuck in a disabled toilet because the lock was a tiny nub you had to rotate. It was in our national football stadium and my hands were cold and stiff which didn't help. I have the opposite problem with the mirrors in my local stadium, they've recently 'done up' the toilets and removed the large mirrors that everyone could use and replaced them with smaller ones low down which, while good for people in wheelchairs, are only any good to let me see my belly button.
One of my pet peeves is when they don’t have a sink inside the accessible stall. It’s not required and rare where I am to have a sink inside the stall but it’s so nice when I come across one that does. Otherwise, If I don’t have any wipes with me, I have to use my dirty hands to push myself/hold my cane or crutches to get to the sink 🤢
I went to one where the door was wide it had good grab bars but it was shallow so you couldn't actually shut the door and transfer onto the toilet. So I could choose to potentially soil myself or have an audience...
As someone who has an invisible disability and always uses the disabled toilet I was always scared to use them but I’m glad I never have been questioned. Now I use a crutch and have a sunflower lanyard so my disability is more visible but one thing that will always upset me is when the red cord is tied up I’m a fall risk, one thing that does make me happy is the hospital I go too always has the red cord hanging down and it also had one of the euans guide red emergency cord cards which makes me very happy 😃
In the US accessible toilets are stalls in regular bathrooms. They are bigger than regular stalls and have grab bars. I am ambulatory and use an electronic wheelchair. It annoys when the stall isn't big enough to properly accommodate my chair. So sometimes I can't close the stall door. So I get to sacrifice my privacy. Hopefully people will notice a wheelchair in the doorway of the stall and not peek in.
I am impressed with what UK accessible toilets have to offer. Here in the US I have only ever seen red cords in medical facilities. I have never seen a flat surface to set your meds on. That's brilliant. In most places in the US an accessible toilet us just a larger stall with a couple of grab bars. It seems like places just do the absolute minimum to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA went into effect July of 1990 and I still encounter accessibility issues.
Recent trip to London. Kings Cross station disabled toilet. It has all the usual features and no baby changing facility. Yet i had to sit in my wheelchair and wait five minutes for a mum to exit with a pram and two toddlers. (I was desperate to go to the loo). She had used the disabled toilet as shr didn’t want to leave her pram and children on the other side of the normal toilet door. I understand why she did it but it was so frustrating for me. When i have to go, i have to go. It’s not like i have the opportunity to use the “normal “ toilets.
Where I live the disabled bathrooms are almost the same as the non disabled bathroom stalls. It’s a toilet in a stall. Disabled stalls have more room and a bar on the wall. That’s it. No sinks, counters, changing stations or mirrors. Most of the time there is no cord either. The sinks are all in the front of the bathroom for everyone to use after.
I imagine the sinks, soap and mirrors can be difficult or in some cases even impossible for wheelchair users to use.
There is a sanitary disposal bin in all stalls then the rest of the bins are large open bins in the front with the sinks so at least those don’t have the foot pedals.
Toilet roll dispensers are always in the way of my elbow so I can't then push myself up. And the grab rails are never at a standard height or distance
In 2018 I went to the state fair. They had a brand new building. The restroom was not what I would consider to be accessible. It wasn’t large enough for a wheelchair & the stall was a regular stall with bars. That was it! I was using a scooter & had to leave it outside. The automatic doors to get into the building weren’t working so you had to manually open the doors 😡.
My daughter is in a wheelchair and it's so difficult to change her. She's too big for the baby changing table but I use those when there isn't any other option than the floor!!!
The thing that is most annoying is when people feel entiteled to use the accessible toilets. I have a Service Dog and need to use the accessible toilet. Just the other day there where two Ladys using it and they were very rude. Not ok...One time there was a Mom with 4 children who used it and im perfectly fine with that. And she even appologised and was very kind.